2003 BP Top of the World Classic Tourney Field Determined
2003 BP Top of the World Classic Tourney Field Determined
Submitted by Carla Browning
Phone: (907) 474-7778
04/18/03
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that the 2003 BP Top of the World Classic field has been filled.
This year’s tournament field includes the host and 2002 tournament champion University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, along with Texas San Antonio from the Southland Conference, Binghamton, (N.Y.) of America East, Idaho State from the Big Sky, Rice from the Western Athletic Conference, St. Mary’s of California from the West Coast Conference, Virginia Military Institute from the Southern Conference and Washington State from the Pac-10.
Rice University heads an exciting field of NCAA contenders. The Owls return four starters from a team that turned a 10-19 record in 2002 to a 19-10 mark last season. Rice tied for third place in the WAC and should be one of the league favorites for this year.
The appearance of Binghamton University will provide a homecoming of sorts for the Bearcats’ star player. Binghamton will be led by Nick Billings, a 7-foot junior from Kodiak. The former Alaska High School Player of the Year was second in the nation (Division I) in blocked shots last season, averaging 4.3 per game.
Idaho State and VMI will feature strong teams that made it to their respective conference semifinals last year. Texas-San Antonio is a perennial conference power in the Southland Conference and St. Mary’s of California should challenge to win the WCC in 2004.
Washington State rounds out the field and returns to Fairbanks for a second time. The last time the Cougars were in town during the 1998 Ford Credit Top of the World Classic, they lost to the host Nanooks 78-65 in one of the most memorable games played at the Carlson Center. WSU will be led by a college basketball coaching legend when Dick Bennett brings the Cougars to Fairbanks. Most recently, Bennett guided Wisconsin to the NCAA Final Four before retiring three years ago. Bennett was recently lured out of retirement by WSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk to bring championship basketball back to the Palouse.
The host UAF Nanooks should present a challenge for all visitors to the tournament. UAF is coming off a storybook season in which they won the 2002 BP Top of the World Classic (the first Division II school to ever win a Division I tournament), the Glacier Holiday Classic in Anchorage, tied for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference championship and earned a trip to the NCAA-II West Regional in Hawaii. The Nanooks return eight of their top 10 players from last year’s squad.
The BP Top of the World Classic was well represented in this year’s NCAA Division I National Championships with 13 former TOW teams making it to the field of 64. They include Wisconsin, Weber State, Tulsa, Southern Illinois, Alabama, Gonzaga, North Carolina Wilmington, Colorado, Oklahoma, California, Mississippi State, Butler and Austin Peay.
This year’s tournament runs from November 20-23 at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks.
First-round match-ups for this year’s tournament are as follows: Thursday, November
20